THE CHURCHILL GIRLS

Winston Churchill is portrayed as the man who politically stood alone against Nazi tyranny during the war. Yet in his private life, he never stood alone. This focus on his daughters – Diana, Sarah, Marigold and Mary – reveals their absolute dedication and loyalty to their parents, at Winston’s side at many crucial moments in the conflict and also eyewitnesses to some of the most important events in world history: beside him at Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam, and with him when he met Roosevelt, Stalin and de Gaulle.

Born into a cast of larger-than-life personalities, it was unfortunately their fate to be overshadowed – and not just by their father. Their only brother, Randolph, was next in the pecking order, at first the golden boy, then the enfant terrible. Even their more distant relatives stole the show: who could compete with their glamorous cousins, the Mitford girls?

In truth, their lives were just as full of drama, passion and tragedy as the Mitfords, and this is a story of extremes which takes the reader from Hollywood to Holloway Prison, from the summits of power to the depths of despair. Marigold tragically dies too young, but we bear witness to how the other girls navigated the world, struggling to forge their own identities.

What prevails despite the vicissitudes of the sisters’ lives is their abiding love for one another. Looking back, Sarah wrote: “Out of it all comes a shining light for me – we were really sisters.” Tested to the limits, the bond between them was indestructible, not dissimilar to their father’s resolve, and this intimate saga sheds much light on the complex dynamics of a family where forgiveness and acceptance were often required. History Press, £20; ISBN: 978-0750-99324-1